The best things to do in Sydney this weekend

Need a new profile pic? We’ve got you.  One of the world’s biggest immersive experiences has just landed in the Harbour City – serving up a fun, surreal backdrop for your Instagram grid glow-up . Bubble Planet: An Immersive Experience is open now at Paddington Pavilion, Sydney Olympic Park, offering Sydneysiders a transporting, ultra-Instagrammable experience. Already experienced by more than two million visitors around the world, with sell-out runs in Milan, Los Angeles, London and Brussels, Bubble Planet is a fantastical world of optical illusions, cutting-edge virtual reality experiences, giant bubbles, and next-level immersive projections. Visitors to the Sydney site can expect to embark on a dreamlike journey through more than 10 otherworldly rooms, home to giant bubble domes, LED underwater-style wonderlands, selfie hubs and VR dreamscapes.  Almost 10,000 tickets were sold ahead of the official opening, so we expect this one will be another sell-out run for the people who brought the incredible immersive Van Gogh experience to Sydney back in 2020. Session at this bizarre immersive world run for between 60-90 minutes, and the experience is suitable for people of all ages – with kids under four welcomed in for free. Keen? You can learn more and snap up tickets over here.    Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, things to do and travel inspo, straight to your inbox. RECOMMENDED: Want more activity inspo? Here’s what’s on in...

One of the biggest visitor drawcards for the gorgeous State Library of NSW, the World Press Photo exhibition is back in Sydney for its most powerful year yet, with more award-winning photographers and unforgettable images that shook and shocked the world.  From war zones to the climate crisis, gender politics to migration, this stunning annual exhibition showcases the most astonishing, thought-provoking, and often beautiful images published by photojournalists in the past twelve months. Run by the World Press Photo Foundation, this year’s exhibition drew in a whopping 59,320 entries captured by 3,778 photographers from 141 countries, with 42 finalists selected by an independent jury.  World Press Photo is just one of seven free exhibitions on now at the Library. From Monday to Thursday, the exhibition is open 'til 8pm; plus, for three Friday nights during Vivid Sydney (May 30, June 6 and 13) the Library will be open for rare after-hours viewings from 6–9 pm. On Thursday, June 5, the Library is also teaming up with Fujifilm Australia for a special event with award-winning Australian photojournalist Dr. Michael Coyne, as part of the State Library Unplugged series. The Fujifilm Light and Lens Photowalk and Talk starts off with an immersive photo walk around the city, taking in the sights of Vivid Sydney, followed by a keynote address from Dr. Coyne, drawing on his 40-year career documenting international events. (Find out more about the event over here.) The 68th World Press...

Winter is setting in in the Harbour City, and things are getting chilling in more ways than one. As a former penal centre, Cockatoo Island is one of Sydney’s most spooky sites at the best of times, and this winter they’ll be amping up the chill factor, with the launch of two immersive ‘Tunnels of Terror’ and a heap of other spooky experiences. It’s all kicking off on Friday, June 13 (the spookiest date of them all), with ‘Fear Island’ taking over Cockatoo Island all weekend long – here’s what to expect. From Friday through Sunday, Sydney’s brutalist industrial island will play host to spooky food stalls, a pumping bar serving up blood-bag cocktails (delicious) and a team of scare actors bringing the spooky stories of the island to life. There will also be makeup artists on site to get you looking scary, dance classes teaching Micheal Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ dance and an outdoor cinema screening scary movies under the stars.But the main event is taking place in the long, dark tunnels that run through the centre of the island. Dubbed the Tunnels of Terror, the two concrete tunnels that run through the island will be transformed into terrifying immersive scary experiences. Details on what to expect from the Tunnels of Terror are thin on the ground, but if you ask us, the names say it all. First up, ‘The Haunted’: we’re pretty sure we can do the maths on what that one might look like. The second tunnel experience, The Asylum, is named after one of Cockatoo Island’s former...

It’s no secret that Vivid grows every year, gaining new hot spots around the city for glowy light installations, ridiculously yummy food and an all-round vibrant atmosphere. This year, the 25 Martin Place building and surrounds will have all three of those things going on – it’s back in the Vivid line-up for the first time since 2018.  Here’s our pick of what you have to check out if you’re in Martin Place during Vivid (which we reckon you should be):  Aalia X Moët Hennessy Check out the luxe plaza area of 25 Martin Place for a glamorous collab between Middle Eastern fine-diner Aalia and opulent beverage label Moët Hennessy. They’re opening a pop-up bar where the cocktails and tasty bites will be plentiful. Catch them from 3pm for a warm-up tipple or ’til 10pm when the city is alight and in the full Vivid swing. BioDream Walk the line between your subconscious and reality with this mind-bending projection of mangroves, rippling water and flying albatrosses projected onto the futuristic looking mushroom-shaped building at the entrance to 25 Martin Place. Stunning, and it's part of the Martin Place Vivid Trail. Affordable nibbles With the packed crowds, restaurants that book out weeks in advance and so much ground to cover, sometimes a cheeky takeout from the food court is the best option on a Vivid night out. 25 Martin Place even has dessert covered with a Gelato Messina on site – so you can spend more time hopping between Sydney’s light shows with a dessert cone in hand. ...

Vivid is doing things differently this year. For Vivid Sydney 2025, it’s not all watching the Opera House turn technicolour and wandering around The Rocks looking at the lights (though that’s still very much worth doing). This year, sparkly season is going beyond the big, CBD landmarks and lighting up one of Sydney’s trendiest inner city neighbourhoods: the Hollywood Quarter. First up, let there be light. From now until the closing night of Vivid (Saturday, June 14), the streets of HQ will glow with neon-toned nods to the world of cinema. Wander the neighbourhood and trace luminous movie soundtrack lyrics and famous quotes; this one’s a Vivid light display for cinephiles.  Then, there’s the event program – which is taking over venues across the neighbourhood with ongoing and one-off events. Every Saturday of Vivid, the Hollywood Hotel will be hosting live music and DJs in its moody ‘Vivid After Dark Lounge’, with snacks catered by nearby Butter served until 11pm. Around the corner, Golden Age is transforming into a dreamlike realm for the duration of the festival, with live music, performance art and kooky, obscure installations inspired by the beloved late director David Lynch. The Vivid line-up at Golden Age includes a performance by Marcus Whale and Nini Voss covering Lynch originals, and they’ll be screening dream-inspired movies in the next door cinema throughout sparkly season. The Soda Factory is also stepping up its entertainment game for the duration of Vivid,...

 The Sydney Film Festival has long been entertaining local movie buffs and global travellers alike – for 72 years, to be precise – and this year is your invitation to ‘See the Bigger Picture’ with a stacked program of more than 200 films screening across various venues from June 4 to 15.  From the major Hollywood blockbusters the whole world is talking about to disruptive arthouse gems, and it’s time to find out for yourself why these flicks are making waves. Whether you’re a film industry professional or a casual popcorn muncher, you’re guaranteed to find a film that’ll change the way you see the world.  So what *is* on offer in this year’s program? We’re excited to see debut Aussie director and SXSW-winner Amy Wang's teen prom satire Slanted, plus two new Australian features – Fwends, the debut feature from two-time Dendy Award-winner Sophie Somerville and Lesbian Space Princess, a Berlin Teddy Award-winning animated feature. There's also spectacles direct from the Cannes Film Festival including the suspenseful duo of crime films The Mastermind starring Josh O'Connor and Secret Agent from Kleber Mendonça Filho, a former Sydney Film Prize winner.   There are 12 films in the running for the ‘Official Competition’ prize – which awards a whopping $60,000 in cold harsh cash for “courageous, audacious and cutting-edge” filmmaking. For the first time in SFF history, the festival is also collaborating with Vivid Sydney 2025 – groundbreaking artistry will burst beyond the screen...

It’s time to get in the winter spirit (literally) – Smirnoff is popping up at Carriageworks this Vivid for a limited time only with two new seasonal drops for Sydneysiders to taste. The best part? It won’t cost you a cent.  Across two weekends in June, Smirnoff will take over a section of Sydney’s coolest arts hub with cosy igloos, where spirit fans (18+, of course) can sample its newest flavours: Lemon Freeze and Espresso Fire. Whether you like your drinks fresh and crisp or prefer a bit of heat, Smirnoff has your taste preferences covered. Lemon Freeze is sharp and zingy with an icy twist, while Espresso Fire packs more of a spicy punch, with rich caramel notes and a warming finish.  “We co-created these flavours with our consumers to ensure they’re not only delicious but surprising,” says Smirnoff's Maddy Stockwell. “The shots literally leave a 'cooling' or 'warming' sensation.” Head down to Carriageworks from Friday, June 6 to Saturday, June 14, 2025, for this immersive experience and be sure to drink responsibly. Find out more about what's on at Carriageworks here.  Smirnoff Lemon Freeze and Smirnoff Espresso Fire are now available for purchase for $53 RRP. *Available to guests 18+ only. Drink Responsibly

If you’re of a certain age, you have history (HIStory, perhaps?) with Michael Jackson. I remember getting ‘Thriller’ on cassette as a kid. ‘Dangerous’ was one of the first CDs I ever owned. I remember seeing the extended music video for ‘Thriller’ on VHS, which came packaged with a behind-the-scenes documentary. One woman, cornered for a quick vox pop at one of the filming locations, asserted that she loved Jackson because he was “down to earth”, which is darkly hilarious in hindsight.  Down to earth? The press called him “wacko Jacko” – we all did. He slept in a hyperbaric chamber. He owned the Elephant Man’s skeleton. His skin kept getting paler, his nose thinner. What a weird guy! Was any of it true? Hard to say. Even today, when a careless tweet is like a drop of blood in a shark tank to fans and journos alike, the media furor around Michael Jackson stands as one of the most frenetic in living memory, eclipsing the likes of Beatlemania. Jackson wasn’t bigger than God, he was God to a lot of people – the King of Pop, the first Black artist to smash through the MTV colour barrier, an artist, an icon, a living legend. Then came the allegations of child sexual abuse, which first began in August 1993, and continue to this day. For those who were still on the fence, the documentary Leaving Neverland, released in 2019, saw many more fans abandon Jackson, who died in 2009 at the age of 50. And so, it makes sense that MJ the Musical would set Jackson’s relationship with the...

A week-long winter festival is going down soon across the banging venues in Redfern’s shiny new drinking and dining mecca, Wunderlich Lane, to celebrate the winter solstice. Kicking off Monday, June 16 and running through to Sunday, June 22, Nightshift will feature fun, wacky and delicious events (that’s you, noodle rave at Island Radio) every night of the week – all to get you off the couch and outta the house for some after-dark fun. Monday night begins with a bang: a full-on Greek feast at one of Sydney’s hottest new restaurants, Olympus. Round up a gang of nine mates and sit down to a theatrical banquette with loads of Greek hits under a 50-year-old bougainvillaea. On Tuesday, retro Australiana bar Baptist Street Rec Club will be hosting ‘The Best Music Quiz Everʼ, led by music legends Myf Warhurst and Zan Rowe. Bondi’s S’wich is opening a brand-new store in Wunderlich Lane, so Wednesday night will see the crew turn their space into a vinyl pizza party. Think pizzetta sandwiches made with oven-fired bread from nearby Regina La Pizzeria, backed up by vinyl bangers played by locals Barney Kato and Adi Toohey. Also on Wednesday is a late-night jazz session at Bar Julius, with multi-instrumentalist Setwun taking over the groovy bar for a night of soothing experimental tunes. Head to dreamy lifestyle and homewares flagship Saardé on Thursday night for hot toddies, mulled wine and snacks by Saltbox and Cook and Waiter. Saturday night’s a biggie, beginning with a noodle rave...

Take one glance at the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Hyde Park Barracks and it’s obvious the big brick structure is dripping with history. It started out as a place that housed male convicts in the early 1800s, but Japanese-Australian artist Hiromi Tango is shining a light (literally) on its lesser-known significance as a site of women’s history this May and June. Watch the Barracks become a canvas for larger-than-life projections showcasing the stories of the women who passed through the building that was once the Female Immigration Depot and Hyde Park Asylum from 1848 to 1887. Recorded voices offer deeply personal stories of hope, and a visual collage that appears after dark until 10pm gives passersby a peek into the Barracks’ archaeology including its rich collection of textiles and fabric fragments inside.  Being a Japanese immigrant, and now a resident of Northern NSW, Tango was inspired by the “voices of those who are often left out of history”. Watch as the site also transforms into the ‘Hope garden’ with large ‘hope flowers’ and a collaborative installation of upcycled textiles that will keep growing.  Hope is on until June 15 at the Hyde Park Barracks, projected nightly until 10pm. Visitors can check it out for free. Find out more info here. The Hyde Park Barracks museum is also open daily from 10am to 6pm with free entry and includes an immersive self-guided audio experience which takes about an hour and a half to complete.